Greenwich's John Barnes named The Saratogian's baseball player of the year

Player of the year John Barnes from Greenwich baseball.Photo Erica Miller 6/18/13 spt_JohnBarnes1_up

GREENWICH -- Generally speaking, the aluminum bats used by today's high school baseball players are specifically designed to be safer than the ones used as recently as the 2011 season.

Manufacturers have tweaked them to act more like wooden ones, slowing the speed at which balls leave the bat to give corner infielders and pitchers more time to react to sharply-hit line drives.

Put one of those aluminum bats in the hands of John Barnes, however, and no pitcher is safe.

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The Greenwich junior tore into Wasaren League pitchers this spring, his transition from using a wooden bat to one of the newer aluminum models playing no small role in the resurgence, and finished the season as the best of the best on a Witches team that was loaded with strong hitters.

The pitcher that was perhaps best suited for containing Barnes this season was Barnes himself. His unwavering confidence on the mound and command of several pitches directly led the Witches to seven victories, and a share of the league's regular-season title with Hoosic Valley.

The five-tool player -- and some may argue he possesses a few more, since that expression does not encompass one's pitching capabilities -- was the consensus choice as the Wasaren League's Most Valuable Player. He is also The Saratogian's high school baseball player of the year.

The distinction comes about six months after he was named The Saratogian's high school football offensive player of the year for picking up 1,481 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns.

"You could tell he was just one of those kids," said Stillwater baseball coach Ian Godfrey, who has also coached against Barnes in football. "He's an athlete. Whatever he does, he's going to do 110 percent. He gives that confidence -- whether he's getting the ball in football or on the mound or at the plate -- that he's in control of the situation. That's something you don't see a lot out of high school kids like that, to really fully feel in control. Overall, his talent speaks for itself."

Barnes' baseball statistics, like the ones he recorded in the fall football season, were jaw-dropping.

Forget the 40 runs he scored, the 33 more he drove in and his .475 batting average, all team-high totals. He hit 10 home runs in 80 at bats. The rest of his team combined to hit four.

High school players across the country started using the newer-model aluminum bats before the start of the 2012 season. Barnes couldn't find one he liked in time, so he used a wooden bat to prepare himself for a summer league that mandated wooden bats like the professionals use.

He did not have the best numbers, so he put in some extra time with his hitting coach in the offseason. He also found an aluminum bat with which he felt comfortable and put it to work this season.

"It's definitely a huge difference from wood to aluminum when you hit the ball square," he said.

Barnes definitely did that a lot. In addition to the 10 homers, he hit seven doubles and two triples.

"If you make a mistake, he'll hit it out of the park," Greenwich coach Duke Beck said. "Then if you pitch him too carefully and walk him, he'll steal a base on you. You basically just threw a double if you walk him."

However, walking Barnes often wasn't an option. He was Greenwich's No. 2 hitter, bookended by leadoff man Colin Oswald, who had a .351 average, and No. 3 batter Cori Winch, who hit .386.

"Colin went off for us this year," Barnes said. "He was on base for pretty much every single one of my home runs, I think. With him getting on base to start the inning and me coming up behind him, you don't want to put two people on with no outs. ... That's not going to help your team any."

Barnes also helped the Witches when he was on the mound.

He posted a 1.68 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over a team-high 62-2/3 innings, going 7-2 with two saves.

"He has good velocity," Beck said. "He probably hits 80 miles per hour. He has a good curveball and he can throw a slider, but he has the ability to throw it at any time in the count."

That made him tough to hit, and was a big reason for his 81 strikeouts.

When the Witches saw Hoosic Valley, for example, the Indians loaded the bases against Barnes in a one-run game. The batter worked a full count, and Barnes threw a curveball to sit him down.

"Some other people might think it's a stupid idea to try to throw a curveball when it's 3-2 and the bases are loaded, in case you walk them," said Barnes, who considers that his best pitch. "I think if you have confidence in the pitch then it's just as good a pitch to throw as a fastball in a 3-2 count."

Barnes will eventually have to make bigger choices than whether to throw a curveball or fastball. He has legitimate college prospects for both football and baseball, and also starts for the Witches' basketball team.

"I've always liked baseball better, but from everyone that I've talked to they say you miss football more when you graduate high school," Barnes said. "I have to make a decision."